Tag Archives: best of 2024

Logan’s 10 Favorite Comics of 2024

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After whatever the hell 2023 was, I got back into comics in 2024. The Absolute and Ultimate lines helped me get back into Marvel and DC’s output, and I also finally read some stone cold classics, both old and new, like Starman, Gender Queer, 20th Century Men, and Something is Killing the Children. I really love that I can get Silver Sprocket’s books from Comics Plus and Hoopla from my public library, and even though I’m not a New Year’s Resolution person, I definitely plan on reading more of their catalog in 2025 (Caroline Cash’s Peepee Poopoo calls my name!) as well as the back half of Starman, Planetary, finally finding out what actually happened to Krakoa in the X-Books, and keeping up with new titles. (Metamorpho and New Gods were two year end bangers!)

Without further ado, here are my favorite ten comics of 2024

10. Peepshow #15 (Fantagraphics)

One of the happiest surprises of 2024 was the release of one last issue of Joe Matt’s Peepshow a year after his untimely passing. This comic deals with Matt moving to Los Angeles to pitch a TV version of Peepshow to HBO and deals with similar subject matter as the previous decades of the book like his frugality, personal feelings of inadequacies, and yes, obsession with Asian women. However, occasional distasteful subject matter aside, Peepshow #15 shows a cartoonist’s cartoonist at the height of his craft with impeccably placed sweat beads and speed lines as Joe Matt has another existential crisis. It’s also a love letter to a comics medium with one of Matt’s friends entreating both him and the reader to pore over some of the comics taking up space in his apartment.

9. Absolute Batman (DC)

In the launch title for DC’s new Absolute line, Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Frank Martin rebuild and revise the Caped Crusader from the ground up. Absolute Batman takes elements from Frank Miller’s works, various Bat-films, and Snyder’s previous work with the character to create a beefy, working class Batman, who is currently bestie with what might later become his Rogue’s gallery. Scott Snyder and Dragotta take aim at school shootings, the prison industrial complex, and cryptocurrency while having entertaining action and chase sequences. They’re three issues into building a universe, and I’m excited to see where this book goes in 2025.

8. Grommets (Image)

Rick Remender, Brian Posehn, Brett Parson, and Moreno Dinisio’s Grommets is a semi-autobiographical love letter to 1980s skate and punk culture set in the Sacramento suburbs. Remender and Posehn draw on their own experiences as teenagers while Parson and Dinisio turn them up to eleven with detailed and period-accurate visuals that are something out of Mad Magazine. It’s fun to watch Rick and Brian’s misadventures and the ups and downs of their friendship, especially once a timer is put on it when Rick’s parents tell him they’re moving to Phoenix. The past few issues of the series have been literal bloodbaths as punks and jocks clash, and of course, the cops don’t take the jocks’ side. Grommets really captures how epic, hilarious, and occasionally sad growing up was.

7. “The Happy Art” (Self-Published)

I read Sami Alwani’s Ignatz-winning “The Happy Art” on his Instagram, but it’s also available in the Pulping “Comics on Comics” anthology. “The Happy Art” is a quite meta comic about how hard it is to appeal to different audiences in comics and also about collective thinking, cancel culture, and all that jazz. Alwani portrays himself as a dog, and the story reaches new heights of absurdity with each page. I love the juxtaposition of Gen Z lingo with a fanatical love for comics as a medium, and how it changes styles and POV with each panel. Saehmeh is indeed based, and so is this very accessible comic.

6. Godzilla Valentine’s Day Special (IDW)

Zoe Tunnell, Sebastian Piriz, and Rebecca Nalty tell a cute queer love story against the backdrop of kaiju attacks in Godzilla Valentine’s Day Special. Kaiju romcom is kind of the perfect subgenre, and Tunnell gives the full progression of the relationship between unemployed burnout-turned-monster chaser Piper and Earth Defense Force soldier Tam from loathing to sweet loving. On the art side, Piriz gets to dig deep into Toho’s library of critters, including a battle royale between Godzilla and MechaGodzilla that shows that building bigger bombs and weapons doesn’t lead to peace, but just more war. It’s also interesting to see the portrayal of the King of Monsters change as the book progresses from something jarring and life-changing to just a reality of life. This could also be a metaphor for the progression of a romantic relationship as well.

5. Belly Full of Heart (Silver Sprocket)

Madeline Mouse’s Belly Full of Heart is queer softness, love, and desire in fluid comic book short story format. Mouse uses pomegranates, starfish, cars, Adidas slides, and more as visual metaphors for love. Their vignettes flow from page to page and color palette to palette in a way that feels like a warm hug multiplied by eleven. Belly Full of Heart throws plot out of the window and focuses on feelings and vibes instead. It’s also full of silly humor with “Kissin’ at the beach/Pissin’ at the beach” getting inducted into the kind of rhyming couplet hall of fame. Belly Full of Heart captures the feeling of being 100% yourself around another person as Madeline Mouse rejects rigid panel boundaries and embraces hand lettering to craft one of the most beautiful and gender euphoric comics of 2024.

4. Midnight Radio (Oni Press)

I know that Midnight Radio technically came out in 2019, but it got a special edition remaster from writer/artist Iolanda Zanfardino so it’s eligible for my “Favorite Comics of 2024” list. Using a distinct color palette for each protagonist, Midnight Radio follows the lives of a diverse cast of characters brough together by a mysterious radio message urging them to be their own authentic selves. There’s a plotline with a healthcare company being responsible for the deaths of many people that was painfully relevant last year, and Zanfardino explores even more social issues like racism, xenophobia, social media addiction, and violence against queer people throughout her story. However, the main draw of Midnight Radio for me was the characters breaking off the shackles of corporate jobs, corrupt cops, unwelcoming families, and societal pressure and finding fulfillment through a variety of types of art, including indie games, music, and more!

3. The Ultimates (Marvel)

Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, and Phil Noto’s Ultimates is anti-imperialist team superhero comic published by the world’s largest entertainment corporation that is also an ode to the single issue. As a collective unit, Ultimates builds to the assembling of Earth-6160’s mightiest heroes and the return of the Maker. However, Camp does the opposite of writing for the trade and gives each single issue its own flair. For example, Ultimates #4 is about Dr. Doom trying to bring the Fantastic Four back and can be read in five distinct ways to tell his tragic story with Noto channeling his inner Dave Gibbons and creating gorgeous symmetry. Deniz Camp and Frigeri connect new takes on She-Hulk and Hawkeye to the violence done towards the indigenous people of the Pacific islands and North America and breathe new life into old school anti-fascists Captain America and Jim Hammond’s Human Torch. Ultimates feels a lot like if Angela Davis wrote the Avengers, and that is a high compliment.

2. Public Domain (Image)

Influenced by comic book history as well as his own experiences as a cartoonist, Chip Zdarsky’s Public Domain is part love/hate letter to the medium and dysfunctional family drama. Public Domain #6-10 shows how the sausage is made with Dallas Comics trying to beat the clock and their new take on iconic superhero, The Domain. Along the way, there are old men arguing at bars, thinly veiled analogues for “star” comic book creators, and a look back at a love affair. Public Domain shows the difficulty of being creative under corporate constraints and also having a personal life while being caught up in the wringer of the comic book industry. It comes across as a real passion project for Zdarsky who crams each issue with visual gags, parodies, and of course, heartfelt moments.

1. Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel)

Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, and David Messina’s Ultimate Spider-Man was twelve issues of comic book comfort food as Peter Parker gets his powers as a thirty-something and must learn how to use them in a world undergirded by evil and corruption. In opposition to certain other writers and editors, Ultimate Spider-Man shows that a married with children Spider-Man comic can be compelling. There’s nothing like struggling fighting the Shocker while one kid knows your secret identity, and the other doesn’t and is kind of besties with J. Jonah Jameson. Speaking of Jameson, the story that showcased him and Uncle Ben digging into the Kingpin and Oscorp might have been the single issue of the year as the two old school newspapermen show their work and speak truth to power. On the art side, Checchetto brings a sleek high tech sheen to the suits and fights while not losing that classic Spider-Man charm, and Messina does a good job of holding down the fort in his fill-in issues. All in all, Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) is the Spider-Man comic I needed at 31 like Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) was the Spider-Man comic I needed at 13, and I love that it wrapped up its first year with a dark, Empire Strikes Back type ending.

Logan’s 10 Favorite Movies of 2024

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2024 was terrible year for comic book adaptations and blockbusters, but was a solid year for films in general. I feel like “elevated” horror became my genre of choice from this year with my favorite picks touching on that subject matter in some way. Also, I became a member at my local indie theater (Shout out The Belcourt!), and it’s a fun experience to pay late 2000s prices to see the latest A24 or Neon film and then also have the opportunity to see Eyes Wide Shut in 35 mm or Hannah Montana: The Movie or Ghost World at midnight. (There was no overlap between those two audiences.) Seriously, if you have the means, supporting your local indie cinema is one of the best things you can do and also provides you a little escapism in our late capitalist hellscape.

But enough rambling, here are my favorite ten films of 2024!

10. Lisa Frankenstein (Zelda Williams)

Starring Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse and with a sparkling screenplay from Jennifer’s Body‘s Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein is about a 1989 teenage girl, who falls in love with a reanimated corpse while the dealing with the trauma of her mother being axe murdered. Although the PG-13 rating stymies some of the horror elements, this film is a sweet, devilishly funny, and maniacally homicidal love story. Newton brings a buoyant, weird girl energy to the lead role of Lisa Swallows, and costume designer Meagan McLaughlin deserves an Oscar nomination for the Gothic-inspired fits she puts the lead characters in. However, my favorite part of Lisa Frankenstein is its expertly curated soundtrack of late 1980s college rock that overlays key scenes like “Strange” by Galaxie 500 washing over an animated sequence of Lisa and The Creature falling love, or “Head On” by The Jesus and Mary Chain when she walks in like the coolest girl in school. (Because she is.)

9. My Old Ass (Megan Park)

My Old Ass is a throwback to classic high concept comedies like Heaven Can Wait, Peggy Sue Got Married, and a heavy dose of Freaky Friday with a contemporary sensibility like its main character being bisexual and her little brother having a shrine to Saoirse Ronan. In the film, Canadian high school senior Elliott (Maisy Stella) has a bad mushroom tea trip and meets her older self, played by an always deadpan hilarious Aubrey Plaza. Elliott gets advice from her older self about bonding with her family while she gets the chance and also to avoid a teenager who works for her family named Chad (Percy Hynes White) Despite the light science fiction and psychedelic elements, My Old Ass is a wise, beautiful film about cherishing family, friendship, and romantic relationships while you have them and to be more realistic about goals for the future. (Older Elliott reveals that she’s a 39 year old graduate student in one of the film’s funniest scenes.) The rural Canadian countryside setting is also an invitation to soak in and savor the film like Elliott does with her last moments of freedom before being thrust into the world of adulthood.

8. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (George Miller)

Furiosa is the darker, more character driven little sister and prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road and fills in the backstory of Furiosa as she goes from a kidnapping victim to a commander of a war rig. Just like its predecessor, Furiosa has many balls-to-the-walls chase and action sequences, but the film succeeds because of the twin performances from Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa. Through just a look, they can convey fear, rage, or just resignation as the manically evil and aptly named Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) tries to find the mythical Green Place. An Ozsploitation villain is a perfect fit for Hemsworth’s comedic and physical skills, and he injects a little B-movie fun into Furiosa when it’s at the risk of getting too dour. However, the film works as both set-piece spectacle and a character study of one of the best action film heroines of the 21st century.

7. Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass)

Love Lies Bleeding is a roid rage-infused lesbian romance thriller about a gym manager named Lou (Kristen Stewart) and a bodybuilder named Jackie (Katy O’Brian), who fall in love, murder abusive men, take a lot of performance enhancing drugs, and eventually go on the run. Rose Glass both explores and queers the Pumping Iron gym culture of the 1980s and brutally satirizes the “family values” of Reagan/Bush Sr-era United States in the dysfunctionality of Lou’s family, especially her father Lou Sr. (A menacing Ed Harris) and toxic brother-in-law JJ (A smarmy Dave Franco) Of course, Lou wants to find escape and freedom, but she ends up repeating old patterns, and Love Lies Bleeding ends up being tragic rather than life affirming. But it’s one hell of a ride, especially in its surreal third act, and Stewart and O’Brian have insane chemistry.

6. Queer (Luca Guadagnino)

An adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel, Queer is about the relationship between a thinly-veiled analogue for Burroughs named William Lee (Daniel Craig) and a beautiful, young US army veteran named Eugene (Drew Starkey) Through the literally down-for-anything conduit of Craig, Luca Guadagnino takes from the gay bars of Mexico City to the jungles of Ecuador in a search for something to scratch that itch and expand the consciousness. Like many of the films on this list, Queer has trippy visuals to go along with a mind-altering score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as well as timely Nirvana needle drops. (Kurt Cobain and William S. Burroughs were actually friends.) Some of my favorite moments in the film are the ghostly representations of the desires of what Lee wishes he was doing with Eugene, but can’t because of illness or shame. He’ll probably lose to Timothee Chalamet or Ralph Fiennes, but Daniel Craig gives a Best Actor-worthy performance as Lee and digs deep into the grimy pits of love, lust, and telepathy.

5. Didi (Sean Wang)

Didi is both a universal and very specific coming of age story about about an eighth grader in 2008 named Chris “Didi” Wang (Izaac Wang), who makes videos with his friends and tries to find love and acceptance in the summer before going to high school. Sean Wang understands the vibe of the late-2000s Internet and social media as Didi uses Facebook to gather intel on the girl he has a crush on or hastily deletes his prank videos when he tries to become the filmer for a group of cool, popular skater kids. Throughout the film, he tries to put on a variety of identities, but still gets flak for being Taiwanese and not having the knowledge, skills, or lingo to fit in with various in-groups he tries to join. Didi is a film for anyone who struggled to fit inset to a music landscape of 2000s indie pop and pop punk (His older sister is a big Paramore fan!), and I love how Didi’s family members have their own arcs and struggles and aren’t just obstacles or comic relief. Shirley gives a beautiful performance as his mother Vivian, who must deal with an absent husband, two pain-in-the-ass kids, and a disapproving mother-in-law.

4. Wicked (Jon M. Chu)

Featuring two iconic performances from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda respectively, Wicked is a soaring musical fantasy blockbuster that doesn’t lose any of its source material’s subversiveness. Splitting the story into two parts was a shrewd move from Chu as it lets the musical numbers breathe, and he even finds some room for a new one with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth passing the torch to the next generation in a spot-on, pro-Wizard propaganda number. Grande has Broadway pipes, but is in full pop diva mode as she exudes confidence and conventionality in contrast with Erivo’s rebel with a cause. However, it’s Peter Dinklage’s voice performance as Dr. Dillamond that sticks with me in the months after seeing the film as he makes a bold and clear stand for marginalized folks and academic freedom that has become more increasingly relevant with the re-election of Trump and putting Linda McMahon in charge of the Department of Education. To steal a line from Billy Bragg, Wicked mixes pop and politics very nicely indeed.

3. Nosferatu (Robert Eggers)

Opening with Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) convulsing orgasmically to the dulcet Dacian tones of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard), Nosferatu establishes itself as a slow-burn, Gothic freak fest that’s not afraid to explore the darker side of humanity and stare into the abyss of pure evil. Writer/director Robert Eggers’ winning streak continues, and he crafts a world where people take the undead and the supernatural completely seriously far removed from 21st century cynicism and postmodernism. Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke embraces the film’s German Expressionist-meets-Victorian penny dreadful roots in his use of chiaroscuro lighting, shadow, wide vistas, and sharp corridor. Nosferatu is a masterclass in classic horror storytelling with Willem Dafoe’s defrocked academic Professor Von Franz bringing a quirky occultist balance to the powerful physical performances from Depp and Skarsgard.

2. I Saw the TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun)

I Saw the TV Glow is an allegory for gender dysphoria couched in the visual language of cheesy fantasy horror TV shows, sad girl indie pop, and liminal spaces. (Also, jump scares from Fred Durst and Phoebe Bridgers.) It’s buoyed by soul-destroying lead performance from Justice Smith as Owen with Brigette Lundy-Paine’s acting as the Virgil to his Dante and introducing him to the show The Pink Opaque that is the only spark of light in his white noise suburban childhood. Both frightening and immersive, I Saw the TV Glow is the one 2024 film that has been a splinter in my mind as I compare my own experiences with pop culture and gender with Owen’s. (X-Men Evolution was my Pink Opaque.) It interrogated and transformed my relationship to reality and identity in a similar manner to The Matrix or The Invisibles, but with a lot less gunplay and more serialized storytelling a la the comics and television shows I’ve spent analyzing for over 1/3 of my existence. Maybe, the egg will crack one day.

1. Anora (Sean Baker)

While I Saw the TV Glow touched me the most personally, Sean Baker’s Anora was the most engaging and well-made film I saw in 2024. The movie is about a sex worker named Ani (Mikey Madison) who has a whirlwind romance and marriage with Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a powerful Russian oligarch. From the opening strip club sequence, Madison is a riveting force of nature, who dances, fucks, quips, and fights her way out of extremely stressful situations. Along the way, she bonds with Igor (Yura Borisov), who steals the whole damn movie with his empathy, active listening, and stoic sense of humor. Anora is a romance, thriller, and full of social commentary about social class in the United States. Ani Mikheeva is a true working class hero and deserves all the fairytale endings.

Brett’s Favorite Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga, and Manhwa of 2024

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Traveling to Mars #11

Usually to kick off the year I put together a list of my favorite comics from the previous year as well as a reflection of that year. Well, 2024 was… just. A year full of negativity about the direction of the industry and lots of “sky is falling” worrying, it was a year of being anxious in every facet of one’s life. Publishers came and publishers went. It was a year that felt like it was full of volatility. But, maybe that’s for another day.

Let’s celebrate the awesome comics that was.

Below is broken down into two sections. There’s the comics I enjoyed and then the comics that really stood out and shouldn’t be missed. While I read a lot this past year (75+ comics, graphic novels, and manga a month), I didn’t read everything released, so this is based on what I read. Something not included doesn’t mean it wasn’t good, it’s possible I didn’t read it.

Manga and manhwa continue to stand out with some of the best stories and art on the shelves right now. But there’s something for everyone. You can read comics any way you want and there’s stories and art styles out there for all tastes.

But, before we get to the comics of the year, I want to talk about four publishers that stood out.

IZE Press/Yen Press – Notice, there’s a lot of manga and manhwa on the list and it’s mostly from these two publishers. Yen Press knocked it out of the park with so much quality (and some stinkers) and IZE Press continues to put out some of the best comics right now.

Skybound – Normally when I think of Skybound, I think The Walking Dead and Invincible. 2023 was the year the publisher really broke out and showed it’s so much more. 2024 is when it showed off it could continue to deliver and it wasn’t a fluke. Its Energon Universe continues to be the best comic universe on the shelf right now. Its Universal Monsters line has been great takes on classic properties.

DC – The publisher has had a rough few years but in 2024 they delivered a solid event in Absolute Power and then launched their “All In” initiative as well as its “Absolute” line. Both have been excellent so far overall with a feel of excitement and positivity oozing from the releases.

Marvel – Marvel’s main line has a been a bit mixed, but its “Ultimate” line was launched and has delivered some of the best series and issues of the year. Overall, it’s been an excellent and exciting ride.

Now, on to what stood out in 2024 (in alpha order)….

  • A Business Proposal (Yen Press)
  • Absolute Batman (DC Comics)
  • Animal Pound (BOOM! Studios)
  • Aria of the Beech Forest (Yen Press)
  • Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture (Yen Press)
  • Bald (Graphic Mundi)
  • Cobra Commander (Skybound)
  • Dog Trouble (First Second)
  • Duke (Skybound)
  • Fist of the North Star (VIZ Media)
  • G.I. JOE (Skybound)
  • G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero (Skybound)
  • God Bless the Mistaken (Yen Press)
  • Hotelitor: Luxury-Class Defense and Hospitality Unit (Lerner Publishing)
  • I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp (Lev Gleason)
  • If You Find This I’m Already Dead (Dark Horse)
  • Justice League Unlimited (DC Comics)
  • Kaiju No. 8 (VIZ Media)
  • Karate Prom (First Second)
  • Killer Shark in Another World (VIZ Media)
  • Lightfall (Harper Alley)
  • Lunar Near Love Story (First Second)
  • Maelstrom: A Prince of Evil (Henry Holt and Company)
  • One for Sorrow (DSTLRY)
  • Origin (VIZ Media)
  • Oshi No Ko (Yen Press)
  • Power Rangers Prime (BOOM! Studios)
  • Prez: Setting a Dangerous President (DC Comics)
  • Rooster Fighter (VIZ Media)
  • So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? (Yen Press)
  • Sophie (Marble Press)
  • Taking Care of God (Yen Press)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Publishing)
  • The Devil That Wears My Face (Mad Cave Studios)
  • The eXpets (Atheneum Books)
  • The Firelight Apprentice (Harper Alley)
  • The Goon: Them That Don’t Stay Dead (Dark Horse)
  • The Night Never Ends (Silver Sprocket)
  • The One Hand (Image Comics)
  • The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King (Yen Press)
  • The Six Fingers (Image Comics)
  • The World After the Fall (IZE Press)
  • Tokyo These Days (VIZ Media)
  • Uncanny Valley (BOOM! Studios)
  • Unico: Awakening (Scholastic Graphix)
  • Universal Monsters: Dracula (Skybound)
  • Where Monsters Lie: Cull-De-Sac (Dark Horse)

And now what really stood out in 2024 (in alphabetical order):

  • Abortion Pill Zine (Silver Sprocket) – In a year where the right “won” and women saw their rights stripped with more subjugation to come, this “zine” does an amazing job to education about abortion and provide guidance about what options are available. The week the it was released in print, its publisher then released it for free online as well.
  • Absolute Superman (DC Comics) – DC”s “Absolute” line has been solid so far. Absolute Superman stands out with a Superman who feels like an insurgent fighting for the downtrodden.
  • Batman & Robin: Year One (DC Comics) – Three issues in and the series has been fantastic with an awesome mix of storytelling and art from Mark Waid and Dan Mora.
  • Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (IDW Publishing) – Cute animals and serial killing. Thankfully we’re getting more as this series was a breakout for Patrick Horvath.
  • Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story (Abrams Comicarts) – Collecting the Guard Dog story from Mutts, we were choked up for much of the collection and it has some wonderful commentary and reflections within from creator Patrick McDonnell and more.
  • Drafted (Abrams Comicarts) – The true story of being drafted during the Vietnam War and featuring amazing detail about life in the army.
  • Feral (Image Comics) – Cute art + zombie genre = an amazing series that’ll keep you at the edge of your seat.
  • How War Begins: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Invasion (Fantagraphics) – An amazing example of graphic journalism with first hand accounts of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
  • I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time (Yen Press) – A fantasy series that has an innocent looking clerk kicking ass. It’s a great mix of action, humor, and fantasy fun. This is one to just sit back and enjoy.
  • Jungle Juice (IZE Press) – X-Men who? This series about a school of mutant students is packed with action and interesting factoids about insects and gets better with every volume.
  • Lebanon is Burning and Other Dispatches (Graphic Mundi) – An anthology looking at the Arab Spring and recent events in the Middle East. It’s beyond educational and a great example of graphic journalism.
  • Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom (IZE Press) – This manhwa is so adorable with an amazing twist on the Snow White story. It’s awesome to watch as this family comes together and we’re routing for them every step of the way.
  • Sidekicks Vol. 1 (Graphix) – Mixing Superpets and The Incredibles, Dan Santat’s graphic novel is a debut that had us immediately wanting more. We want a monthly comic, animated series, and more!
  • Solo Leveling (IZE Press) – Amazing action, the manhwa has been fascinating to read as we get to see a lead grow in power and toe the line between being a hero and villain. We’re fully expecting a turn at some point and fear the downfall.
  • Space Ghost (Dynamite Entertainment) – The series has been amazing. It has reinvigorated the classic character taking its core elements and adding depth and history that hasn’t really been present before. Writer David Pepose has been knocking it out of the park and the art by Jonathan Lau is some of the best in a monthly comic.
  • The Boxer (IZE Press) – The best ongoing manga/manhwa/comic right now in my opinion. There’s the amazing art to start. But, each volume examines its main character through telling the story of his opponents. But, it’s the slow corruption of our “hero” that has us questioning if he’s really the hero of the story or if it’s really about someone else. While the story might be set in the world of boxing, it’s the focus on the characters that makes it stand above the rest.
  • The Jellyfish (Pow Pow Press) – The story of a young woman who loses her eyesight is tragic but also hopeful for all those who struggle with adversity due to their health.
  • The Mighty Onion (Little Brown Books for Young Readers) – Using a mix of comics pages, journal entries, handwritten letters, and more, author-illustrator Mark Crilley explores the triumphs and tribulations of the creative process–and teamwork–in a series opener that’s unlike any you’ve seen before! Great for kids and adults!
  • The Pedestrian (Mad Cave Studios) – The quirkiest superhero in quite a while. There’s something rather quaint about the series. It’s a little X-Files. It’s a little superhero. It might be my first cosplay.
  • The Road: A Graphic Novel Adaptation (Abrams Comicarts) – Yes, a whole bunch of shit came out about Cormac McCarthy but Manu Larcenet’s art is too good to not include. It’s hauntingly beautiful and some of the best art in a comic this year.
  • Transformers (Skybound) – This is how you reboot and update a classic property. While familiar, it changes things just enough to keep readers on their toes. It’s packed with holy shit moments and a lot of heart. Mix in great art and it’s one of the most fun ongoing series.
  • Traveling to Mars (Ablaze) – The series wrapped up this year and it nailed its finale. An amazing read from beginning to end. It deserves so much more recognition. Just heart wrenching.
  • Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel) – Featuring one of the best single issues of the year, the series has been fantastic with its mix of action, heart, and fun. It’s the Spider-Man I’ve wanted for so long, one that has to balance being a hero, a father, and a husband.
  • Your Letter (IZE Press/Webtoon) – One of the best of the year. I was in tears by the end of it. Just a beautiful release about childhood friends and a magical scavenger hunt.